Green Office Certification

What is Green Office Certification?

The Green Office Program encourages staff and faculty in an initiative to promote the best sustainable practices at Missouri S&T and recognizes offices that meet the criteria of the program. Any office or campus departments at Missouri S&T can participate in the program. The certification acknowledges best workplace practices such as energy, recycling, transportation, purchasing, education and outreach, and green meetings. By engaging in this program our goal is to help educate and promote the best sustainable practices, helping save our planet one step at a time.

Levels of Certification

The levels for certification are bronze (20-39 points), silver (40-59 points) and gold (60+ points). These points are given based on the different tasks and policies of the given office, and are awarded when the office has met criteria on the checklist.

How to Participate

Step 1. Download the 2017 Green Office Checklist. The checklist is to help offices learn how to become more sustainable and can be used as a guide to determine what improvements can be made. Email sustainability@mst.edu to set up a time where we can present the Green Office program to your office to get started; or if you prefer you can look at the power point.

Step 2. Determine your office's Green Coordinator. The Green Coordinator will act as the main contact between your office and the Center for Sustainability, being the go-to person in the office for green questions, and acts as the promoter of sustainable practices. Not a green guru? The Center for Sustainability is here to support the Green Coordinator throughout the process.

Step 3. After determining your Green Coordinator, set objectives and goals for the office to meet the different criteria. Don't worry about hitting all of them or even most of them at once. The office can resubmit for certification every semester (spring, summer, and fall) after their last certification, and at least have to resubmit once a year (e.g. if the office submits in Fall 2017 they must resubmit in 2018). Always check back here for the most updated form.

Step 4. Once you are ready, send the completed checklist form to sustainability@mst.edu for review. Once the review is completed we will contact your Green Coordinator and arrange a time to come to present your green office certificate along with a photo for the office!

Benefits to Participating

Missouri S&T Strategic Plan (Action 3.8.2) works to create a culture of sustainability on the Missouri S&T campus and community by delivering programs to that increases sustainability awareness. Along with help meeting this goal, this will help reduce CO2, water and energy usage, throughout the campus. By volunteering in this program we can help make steps toward becoming a more sustainable campus and allowing future generations to benefit as well.

Questions?

Completed the Program?

Currently Awarded Sustainable Offices

What is Sustainability?

According to the EPA, "Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations."

As the graph shows, sustainability is not only about the environment, but economical and social aspects as well. When combining all three of these together and saving resources for future generations we become sustainable.

As Missouri S&T strives to become more sustainable, the Center for Sustainability developed the Green Office Program to help faculty and staff to become involved and being sustainable as well. The Green Office Program at Missouri S&T is focused on promoting sustainable practices and rewarding those who are making a difference in our campus community.